Happy Memories Are the Greatest Gift..Part 1

We were married thirty years ago today. Rather than choose one day or one way to celebrate, we have decided to have 30 celebrations. A few weeks ago I met a woman who told me about celebrating her 60th birthday throughout the year with 60 different events. What a great idea! No pressure to decide on the best way to celebrate…just keep making more memories!

On Friday we went to lunch at one of our favorite places. In fact, it’s the place where we spent our 25th anniversary in 2007 with our daughter Marianne, and friends Al and Nancy Collingbourne: Jake’s Del Mar!

Our 25th anniversary celebration at Jake's Del Mar

When we go to Jake’s, we always make a reservation for 11:30 am when the restaurant opens, get there early and request a window table. The view is amazing…and last Friday had exciting high surf!

High Surf at Jake's Del Mar!

We had a beautiful view of the coast and the surf.

Even though I always look at the menu, the only thing I ever order is the Pecan-Crusted Sea Bass, with asparagus, shrimp, Israeli couscous and red pepper sauce. Several years ago my mother was visiting soon after my dad had died, and I took her to lunch at Jake’s. We ordered that sea bass and concluded that it was one of the best things we had ever eaten. We remember that wonderful lunch and still talk about it often.

Our waiter offered us a dessert … they have a wonderful menu of desserts, but Jake’s signature is their Hula Pie. Macadamia Nut Ice Cream, on a cookie crust, with fudge sauce and whipped cream….served on their special Hula Pie plate! Jake’s coffee is wonderful too.

Our favorites at Jake's Del Mar

We had intended walking on the beach, but realized we had forgotten to bring our hats. The Southern California sun will burn a red-head even in the winter months, so we drove south to Seaport Village to buy hats for the weekend.

New hats for our weekend in the sun!

While we were at Seaport Village we remembered the days when we would take babies in strollers to walk along the bay, and later the children would ride the antique merry-go-round. We have taken out-of-town guests there over the years, or had special meals in the restaurants with visiting family. It’s nice to have happy memories in familiar places…as well as making new memories for the future.